I have to stop and take another break. I know that I only have a few more
steps to go, but I’ll topple over if I don’t take a few seconds to catch my
breath. I don’t hear my master up on the mountaintop. He’s probably on the
far side of it, peeing over the edge, or laughing to himself about his
accomplishments, of which there are many. Technically, everything he ever
did was actually done by someone else; someone like me. Don’t tell him I’m
complaining, though. A single word of slight displeasure with work
conditions, and he’s sending me back down this mountain the quick route, if
you know what I mean. It’s what he does. He’ll take any reason he can find
to kill his servant, and move on to the next one. There always is another
candidate waiting, so it’s not like he has to worry about doing any actual
work on his own. I wish I could thank the ones who came before me, who
learned his quirks and pet peeves, so the rest of us know what to expect. I
just hope the guy just before me was the last to ever make a mistake. My
sister tells me it doesn’t matter, that it’s not worth it. She thinks he’ll
always find a reason, but I know that he has in mind the perfect life, and
if I can give that to him, he’ll reward me. He’ll reward my entire family if
I go above and beyond above and beyond, and that’s why there is always
someone ready to take his servant’s place. If I get this right, he won’t
need another servant until I’m dead. Then maybe my grandson will take over
for me. That would be a dream come true. Okay, I can keep going now. Then
I’ll assemble the pieces, and be finished with this once and for all. I’m
grateful he didn’t demand that I bring the whole thing up here at once. That
would have been impossible, and I would have become the first in an infinite
series of servants to die on our respective first days.
I keep walking, and make it all the way to the top. Then I approach the pile
of parts, and carefully set the last one down next to it. It’s the largest
and heaviest one. When it’s finished, this will be the largest table in all
the lands. Kings, warriors, and sorcerers from all over will one day hold
meetings here. Dozens of sections will fit together on top of four times as
many legs. Those were the easiest to do in the grand scheme of things. He
let me take as much, or as little, as I wanted, and as much time as I
needed. Unfortunately, the central leg structure was custom made by a
follower of his, and it was constructed as a single piece, so I couldn’t
take it apart, but that’s done now, and I’m ready to move on to the next
phase. I begin to fit legs under leaves, and connect them all together. It
goes quite fast, and I don’t need any more breaks. I suppose what I went
through to get here has made me so strong that I feel invincible. Perhaps
it’s a taste of my ultimate reward. I’m so proud of myself once it’s
completely complete. I didn’t make any mistakes, or have to redo anything.
It’s perfect, if I do say so myself. As if he knows it’s ready, my master
appears from the other side of the ridge. He takes a long time to inspect my
work, making me nervous, probably on purpose. He smiles and places a warm
hand on my shoulder. “You have done well. It is a magnificent table.” I
smile back and thank him for the praise. He continues, “now drag it over to
that side, and flip it over the edge. Follow it down, as carefully as you
would like, but be at the bottom by the end of the day. If you survive,
commission the carpenter to make another one just like it, and then do it
all over again.” He begins the trek down the steps, and I do as I’m told.
After the fourth table, I don’t make it down the mountain in time, and he
kills me for it.
No comments :
Post a Comment